Why would the author assume that? In my small hometown, animal control was a division under the police department. And there were laws against letting your pets roam freely through the neighborhood. So the proper procedure for reporting stray animals was to call the non-emergency police number.

For all we know, the woman did exactly what she was supposed to do, but the MSN "reporter" saw a single entry on a police blotter and made up a story around it.

Why would the author assume that? In my small hometown, animal control was a division under the police department. And there were laws against letting your pets roam freely through the neighborhood. So the proper procedure for reporting stray animals was to call the non-emergency police number.

For all we know, the woman did exactly what she was supposed to do, but the MSN "reporter" saw a single entry on a police blotter and made up a story around it.

Poorly written article is poorly written.

I actually agree that she probably didn't call 911 for this, but as to "letting your pets roam freely", every city in the US I have ever heard of does NOT restrict the movement of cats. Cats are considered "wild" or "feral", which is why they don't require them to be registered and have tags, like dogs.